Nick Foles throws record-tying 7 TDs as Eagles rip Raiders

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Nick Foles didn't know he had etched his name in NFL history until after he came out of the game. That must have been because he was too busy shredding the Oakland Raiders' defense to keep up with his impressive statistics.

Foles tied an NFL mark with seven touchdown passes and threw for 406 yards to revitalize Philadelphia's struggling offense in the Eagles' 49-20 victory over the Raiders on Sunday.

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"A couple people came up to me and said that I tied the record with seven touchdowns," Foles said. "It's a great honor. Hats off to our guys for doing a great job."

The backup quarterback connected three times with Riley Cooper to become the seventh passer in NFL history with seven TD tosses in a game. Peyton Manning did it for Denver on opening night this season against Baltimore.

"Every defense the past couple of weeks has been stopping us," McCoy said. "So today we were kind of feeling bottled up and we released everything. It's tough when you're not winning and you're not putting points up."

The Raiders (3-5) had appeared much improved on defense in recent weeks but were completely flummoxed by coach Chip Kelly's spread offense that stalled recently after a fast debut in the NFL.

Foles completed 22-of-28 passes as he frequently exploited mismatches and blown coverages, starting with a 42-yard quick pass to Cooper on the opening drive when the Raiders had two defenders trying to match up with three receivers.

McCoy took a short pass and ran 25 yards untouched for his score in the third quarter and Jackson raced past Mike Jenkins on his 46-yard touchdown later in the third.

A Nice Little Sunday

Nick Foles had a career day on Sunday, throwing more TD passes than in his first five games combined and throwing for 65 percent of the yardage he had accumulated in five games this season.

First 5 games

Sunday

Pass att

90

28

Pass yds

622

406

Pass TDs

6

7

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Foles then tied the record with a 5-yard pass to Cooper with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter, matching the mark also held by Sid Luckman, Adrian Burk, George Blanda, Y.A. Tittle and Joe Kapp. Burk did it for the Eagles in 1954 against Washington.

With more than a quarter to go to break the record, Foles was unable to get the Eagles back into the end zone on the next two drives before being replaced by Matt Barkley.

"I know what the record is," Kelly said. "But this isn't about records, it's about going out and getting a win. If I put Nick out there to try to get a record and he gets hurt, that's being silly. Records are meant to broken when they're supposed to be broken."

That was about all Foles couldn't do in his first game since being held to 80 yards on 29 passes before leaving with a concussion two weeks ago against Dallas.

Foles only got another shot this week because regular starter Michael Vick reinjured his hamstring in a loss to the New York Giants last week. But now, it will be tough to take out Foles, who has 13 touchdown passes and no interceptions this season.

"Everybody started acting like his career was over after that Dallas game but they forgot that he had played some good football before that," center Jason Kelce said. "A lot of that criticism will probably be halted for at least one week."

So too will the critiques of how Kelly's offense will translate to the NFL. Viewed as revolutionary when the Eagles gained 322 yards in the first half of the season opener against Washington, the offense had been held to 478 yards and one field goal the past two weeks before breaking through against the Raiders.

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Foles repeatedly targeted rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden as he led the Eagles to touchdowns on their first four drives for the first time in three years. Hayden was beaten on successive plays by Cooper for a 17-yard completion and 63-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

"When a quarterback has seven touchdowns, we have to sit there and take that personal," cornerback Tracy Porter said. "We can't give a guy seven touchdowns in a game, let alone put up 49 points on us. It was flat-out embarrassing that we allowed that to happen."

The Raiders couldn't keep up with Philadelphia's torrid scoring pace despite gaining 560 yards -- their third-most ever and most since 1968. They had one first-quarter drive stall in the red zone for a field goal and then couldn't play catch-up in the second half when the Eagles turned a 28-13 halftime lead into a blowout.

Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor threw for 288 yards and ran for 94 more, but also had two interceptions and took two sacks in a shaky performance. He left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury that he does not believe is serious.

"It's embarrassing," Pryor said. "I hate losing. It's not acceptable to me and I don't like it. All the guys in here agree with me. We have to do something about it instead of tanking it."

Game notes

The 49 points for the Eagles were their most since beating Washington 59-28 in 2010. ... Oakland RB Darren McFadden left in the first half after re-aggravating a hamstring injury that kept him out of one game already this season.

The Eagles are the 1st team to have 3 different QB post a Total QBR of at least 99.0 in a single game (min. 20 action plays) since we started tracking Total QBR in 2006. The 49ers also have 3 such games -- 2 from Colin Kaepernick and 1 from Alex Smith.
Overall, Foles posted the 18th game (by 13 different QBs) with a Total QBR of 99.0 or better (min. 20 action plays) since 2006.

Most Games by QB of 99+ Total QBR - Since Start of 2006 Season

Brent Celek's Rec TD in the 1st quarter was the 1st offensive TD by the Eagles since Desean Jackson's 36-yd Rec TD in the 4th quarter on Oct. 13 at Bucs (Week 6).

- Foles is the third quarterback in NFL history to throw seven passing touchdowns without an interception. Foles joins Peyton Manning from Week 1 of this season and Y.A. Tittle in 1962 as the only players to accomplish the feat.
- Nick Foles threw seven touchdown passes on Sunday against the Raiders, one more than his number of incomplete passes (six). Foles threw as many touchdowns in one game as Eagles quarterbacks had thrown in their previous six games combined and as many as the Eagles' offense had generated in their previous four games combined.
- Foles completed 8-of-10 throws at least 15 yards downfield for 256 yards and four touchdowns on deep throws. The Raiders entered Sunday having only allowed one touchdown pass on throws at least 15 yards downfield in seven games this season.
- Foles' seven touchdown passes in Sunday's game were as many or more than three NFL teams all season. Foles equaled or surpassed the passing touchdown total through Week 9 of the Jaguars (four), Vikings (six) and Raiders (seven)- and did it all in the first 40:26 of the game.
- It didn't matter how Oakland tried to pressure Foles on Sunday. Foles completed 17-of-22 passes for 357 yards against standard pressure, throwing as many touchdowns (four) as he had off-target passes. As for the blitz, Foles finished 5-of-6 for 49 yards and three touchdowns, with his only incompletion coming on a Jason Avant drop.
- Foles is the third quarterback in NFL history to throw seven passing touchdowns in a road game, joining Eagles quarterback Adrian Burk in 1954 and Bears quarterback Sid Luckman in 1943.
- Five different Eagles receivers caught touchdown passes, only the third team since the start of 2001 with five different receivers catching touchdowns. Foles' average throw distance on his seven touchdowns was 17.3 yards downfield, with an average of 7.4 yards gained after the catch on those throws.

Nick Foles tied an NFL record with 7 touchdown passes against the Raiders. He had a 99.1 Total QBR, the highest Total QBR by an Eagles quarterback since Michael Vick's performance on Monday Night Football against the Redskins in 2010 (99.8 Total QBR).